Ancelotti: It's the ref's fault
Sunday 9 November, 2008
Carlo Ancelotti blamed the referee for robbing Milan of victory at the Via del Mare. “Only in Italy are these fouls awarded.”
Ronaldinho had given the Rossoneri the lead, but deep into stoppages Emerson was judged to have fouled Daniele Cacia and Esposito nodded in the free kick.
“That was a foul they only give in Italy. Unfortunately the referees in Italy give far too many free kicks for the slightest contact,” sighed the Coach.
“Unfortunately there was a man marking him and [Pippo] Inzaghi was in position, but the Lecce player did well to jump and get to the ball first. We don't have a very tall team, so it can happen for us to be a little weak on set plays.”
Milan had wasted a series of great scoring opportunities, most of them with Marco Borriello, while Christian Abbiati barely had a save to make.
“It was probably our best away performance in Serie A, as we created many chances, were balanced and pushed hard, yet we only got a point.
“I waited to make the substitutions because the team was doing so well. I was a little worried that adjusting the system could create a few more problems for us.”
Alexandre Pato came off the bench to immediately set up the opener for Ronaldinho, but there were midfield problems with Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo out injured.
“Ambrosini is a very useful figure going forward, but he was out so we tried to push the full-backs further forward and that helped our style of play.
“It is true we create a lot more than we actually score, but that can happen. This match was basically won and we had done everything to deserve it.
“It wasn't even so much a defensive distraction at the end, but rather an error from the referee.”
The 1-1 draw means that Milan lose the Serie A leadership to Jose Mourinho's Inter, but it is extremely tight as eight teams are crammed within four points.